-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com after two weeks of turmoil on the streets, syria's president is set to face his people. >> one day after his cabinet resigned, assad is giving a speech. we'll bring it to you live when it happens. >> you're watching "world one"

live from london. ahead, more fears in japan, more fears as the damaged nuclear plant spike at 3,000 times the normal level. rebels in libya face more setbacks in the push against moammar gadhafi's forces. u.s. president barack obama says he will not rule out arming the rebels. a decisive moment in syria, the world is waiting to hear what the president will say one day after his cabinet quit. bashar assad will "face the nation" and has been lying low after two weeks of violent clashes between security forces and anti-government protests. thousands have been killed.

and they poured into the capital tuesday. it is said the president could be about to lift the emergency law in place since 1963. he will bring you the address live as soon as it begins. >> right now, we're joined by hala gorani. you interviewed the spokesman from the embassy. good to see you. did he say anything about what we can expect bashar to say? >> we have spoken to embassy members and others and we are expecting bashar al-assad to lift the state of emergency that has been in place longer than he has been alive, 1962, the baathi baathi baathist coup that brought them in power. it won't happen in syria

concretely until it does. you have critics who say regardless whether or not this emergency law is lifted, there are so many other laws and many other rules that allow for authorities to detain people without charge, to prevent them from assembling, to prevent them from publicly criticizing the regime it really won't make much of a difference. the big question is whether or not these promises of reform bashar is expected to make in an hour or two, difficult to pinpoint a time during a session of parliament, whether or not they will quiet the demonstrations that have taken place in the south in the last two week and have killed, according to human rights groups, more than 60 people. zain. >> could syria be the next domino in the region to fall? >> that's another question people are asking. another question is could syria be the exception? in other words, could there be a

situation where the president for life makes a certain number of promises and the demonstrators give that president a little bit of breathing room, a little bit of time to see if these promises become reality. that is the question. we're still hearing calls for demonstrations, especially for this upcoming friday. however, over the last two day, mainly because of the presence of army troops in some cities where we haven't seen demonstrations, it's an open question, of course. once the speech is over, once t it's had an opportunity to sink in with the syrian public, will demonstrators go out on the streets again? >> cnn's hala gorani giving us good perspective and reality check what we can expect. we will bring it to you live when it happens. syria has been under a state of emergency law since 1963. according to the u.s. state department, the law authorizes

syria's government to make what it calls preventive arrests and bans demonstrations and allows censorship of correspondents, communications and media. the law creates special courts for state security trials and political cases. amnesty international says the emergency law has resulted in thousands of political opponents detained, imprisoned and even tortured without fair trial. we're waiting for bashar al essed s essed -- al-assad to speak. we'll bring you his address live as soon as it happens. saying sorry for the nuclear crisis in japan. the ceo of tepco, which owns the cribl crippled power plant has apologized for damage caused by overheating nuclear reactors. he says staff are doing all they

can to stave off a meltdown at fukushima but a strategy meant to bring a situation under control could be creating a new hazard. workers are scrambling to contain tons of radioactivity water contaminated when sprayed onto the nuclear fuel rods to cool them down. it's not certain there is a connection but new tests indicate iodine in the ocean near the plant is more than 3,000 times its normal radioactivity. meanwhile, the president was taken to hospital on tuesday suffering from fatigue and stress. >> martin savage joins us live from tokyo with the latest on the nuclear crisis. he's been following the situation as it develops. hi, marty. what are you hearing today? >> reporter: i want to update you on the condition of the president. he's 66 years of age and been president of tepco three years now and as you point out, he's suffering from what the company says is stress and fatigue. it's fairly common in japan for

the chief executive officers of any corporation to feel a personal sense of responsibility any time their company runs into trouble. tepco's definitely in trouble. at the fukushima daiichi nuclear facility, there was a little bit of good news to report today. we've been talking about the problem, too much water with too much radiation in too many places all over the facility. they have now begun the process of trying to drain the water in crawl spaces and basement, sounds like i'm talking about a house, the tunnels talking about the turbine buildings where this water has cooled. these are places the employees want to get to, because if they want to get electricity restored, want to get the pumps on, stabilize the cirks, tcumst, the water has to go. they estimated it will take three to four days to pump all that dry. the other concern, the flip side, bad news, is the levels of

radiation found in tishe sea water. saturday, it was 1500 times above normal. tuesday, the reading comes in 3,000 times, nearly double. the question again is how is it getting into the ocean? no one can seem to say but clearly getting in, in large quantities. >> what are people you talk to on the streets in tokyo and elsewhere saying about the situation and how it's being handled? are they scared? >> reporter: two things. there was a spike in the fear with the reports of plutonium discovered on-site in soil samples a couple days ago. that got people's attention because that meant something serious happened with one of the reactors. the other thing is usually the japanese are quite a reserved society, especially when you watch their reporters asking questions at news conferences. a lot of that decorum has gone right out the window now because it's quite clear many people are

very frustrated both in the media and on the street as to the lack of information they think they're getting from tepco. they believe tepco is holding back and aren't revealing how bad it truly is and very slow revealing whatever information. people are getting very frustrated. never a good thing when you're also frightened. >> is there any confidence they can get the situation under control? >> reporter: i think that the short answer is no. you look at the opinion polls taken in this country. the majority of people do not believe tepco has been fully forth right in explaining what's happening. here's something else you have to keep in mind. because of the loss of fukushima and other plants damaged in the earthquake of tsunami. this country has lost 30% of its electrical capacity. 30%, a massive figure. as a result throughout the area, not just tokyo but elsewhere,

there are rolling black-outs. that's never happened since world war ii, having a tremendous impact on daily life. you can literally say these are dark days here in japan figuratively and literally. >> cnn's martin savidge reporting. thanks a lot. great to see you. >> you're watching "world one," live from london. . >> rebel fighters being driven back from key positions in libya. the latest on the ground when we come back in a few minutes. [ female announcer ] it can creep up on you. dry skin. that's why there's lubriderm® daily moisture. it contains the same nutrients

naturally found in healthy skin. skin absorbs it better and it lasts for 24 hours. later gator. lubriderm. your moisture matched. aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. premier of the packed bag. you know when to hold 'em... and how to fold 'em. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro.

to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's motrin pm.

no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm. you're watching "world one," our top story. the president of syria is scheduled to speak to the nation. his cabinet quit tuesday. it is thought his speech could be about lifting civil restrictions. we will bring you the address live as soon as it happens. tests show sea water near

the fukushima nuclear plant is highly contaminated. radioactivity iodine was measured at more than 3,000 times the normal level. the ceo of tepco which owns the damaged power plant has apologized to the country for the crisis. the semifinal of crickets world cup has just got under way, pitting the hosts india against their neighbors and rival, pakistan. excitement is at fever pitch at the stadium. many hope the game will smooth over years of bitter relations. india won the toss and have chosen to bat first and the winner will seas sri lanka in the world cup final. india says he doesn't rule out arming fighter in libya. it comes as opposition forces suffered a new setback. they gained ground in the last few days and now coming under fire with gadhafi trying to push them back out of key towns like

binnia wad and ras lanuf. like bin jawad. you're looking at pictures taken 15 kilometers outside bin jawad. cnn saw rebel fighters making a pretty hasty retreat. the fighting continues as foreign ministers and top diplomats from 40 countries met right here in london to talk about the crisis in libya, they united and believe gadhafi must go. they agree military action has to continue in the country until gadhafi forces put down their weapons. here's what the u.s. president had to say about the opposition. >> first of all, i think it's important to note that the people we've met with have been fully vetted so we have a clear sense who they are. so far, they're saying the right things. most are professionals, lawyers, doctors, people who appear to be credible. that doesn't mean that all the

people who among all the people who oppose gadhafi, there might not be elements unfriendly to the united states and our interests. >> opposition forces are now regrouping in the town of las ra enoug lanuf. fighting is continuing to rage in the coastal town of misurata. any loss of momentum could be a huge blow for the opposition. they are trying to reach tripoli, to force their longtime leader, colonel gadhafi, to step down. cnn's arwa damon brings us the late latest. >> reporter: opposition fighters are now clustered trying to regroup in ras lanuf. on the other side of this oil town, we're hearing the sounds of explosions and seeing dark plumes of smoke rising. this is a very significant loss for the opposition. just a short while ago, we were on the outskirts of ben jawad, we heard explosions and saw

smoke rising and they beat a hasty panicked retreat. they began to come over heavy artillery, tank and rocket fire. they also say there were snipers in the city, gadhafi loyalists firing on them as well. unable to withstand the barrage, they were forced to retreat, all the way back to the oil town of ras lanuf, it would seem. they say they are continuing to struggle in terms of standing up against gadhafi's military both because they lack weapons and equipment and more importantly, they lack training, a koheisive military strategy, the basics of command and control and critical discipline needed to take on this kind of a fight. up until now, it had been fairly easy going for the opposition fighters thanks to the air strikes, moving through territory where the population supported the opposition or was even part of the opposition itself. in the last 24 hours, as we saw

them beginning to push westward to the tribal areas loyal to gadhafi, they came across not only residents armed and firing on them, gadhafi's military as well, regrouping intent not just intent or protecting gadhafi's hometown of sirte and tripoli but all it lost. we are still waiting for syria's president to speak. we don't know when this will happen because the speech keeps getting delayed. we'll bring you live as soon as it does happen. >> this is "world one," live. millions taking off work to watch india taking on pakistan in the world cup cricket final. >> it's no ordinary game. zain will tell you why in a moment. power of dawn.

right in the eraser. oh-h, look at the bubbles. bottle 1: that's the race car of erasers. bottle 2: it is, it's the "erase car". is there a pit stop in this guy's future? this is unbelievable. he helps remove three times more greasy kitchen mess per swipe. well, i think he wins this race. oh man, look at him go. if i had hands, i'd throw in the towel. yeah, things aren't what they used to be. mr. clean magic eraser kitchen scrubber...

millions of asians are glued to their tv screens for the mother of all matches. india taking on pakistan in the world cup cricket semifinal, a big deal. >> more than a game. the two countries are rivals. on the pitch and off. >> reporter: everyday, hustle and bustle of a mumbai street. at first glance, it's hard to tell cricket's biggest tournament is reaching its climax. look a little closer and world cup fever is everywhere. at the fortis hospital on the outskirts, one patient brought forward his spine surgery so he wouldn't miss the match. surely your back is more important than the cricket. >> it is not to delay health.

but cricket is important. >> reporter: now, his family will come and watch the game with him in his hospital room. dr. kazi performed the operation. he said the tournament has made him less busy. >> this month has been pretty light for us. maybe the exams, maybe the world cup play, but we feel it could be the world cup because different case, people do plan everywhere, they plan their cases -- >> reporter: more cancellations this month? >> definitely, more cancellations and not as many people coming in. their refuse to come to the hospital at this time. >> reporter: so the replica of the world cup trophy has attracted much attention. we thought we would add our names to the signatures underneath. lots of people were gathered to watch pakistan at our door screens, although these locals

were denied permission to use theirs. one of the officials of the world cup sponsors have been given the day off although it's bound to be inevitable. many fans are expected to miss work with or without permission. demand to see the action is so high. fame is a handful of cinema chains screening the match. i joined in a game of cricket at a local park. these matches are as common place as jogging in new york central park or football in the streets of rio dejde janiero. these gold posts are going unused. unlike many parks around the world, can't see kids playing football here. in india, all about the cricket. massive passion for the sport and also means huge pressure on the national team. if india can handle the hype on the soil, most say they have the talent to beat pakistan, although their semi-final has

worldwide implications. the prime minister will be there with his india counterpart. they have been political rivals for decades and then the 2008 terror attacks blamed on pakistani nationals. it isn't what most will focus on, just want their world kun run to continue. >> it's like a final, it will be a great match. no doubt, they have a very good team. they are playing well and will make it to the finals. like god, cricket is like god for us. >> like a religion. >> nobody is going fotheir job. >> no job, a rest day. >> a holiday for us. >> reporter: there will be some indians that don't care about the cricket. this week, while you may be indifferent, you certainly can't ignore one of the country's biggest ever showdowns. alex thomas, cnn, india. >> you're watching "world one"

live from london. >> what exactly drives bashar al essed assad. >> you will see in many ways why he is an accidental president. push your onstar button and you could be one of them. even if you're not an onstar customer. ♪ just push your blue button and tell the advisor you want to enter the onstar push on sweepstakes. ♪ but do it soon. no purchase necessary. see rules at onstar.com to enter without a blue onstar button. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition

and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. purina cat chow. curtis: welcome back to geico geck csteve, go right on the ahead. steve: yeah, u i jt afree rate, saved a ton, and it only took me 5 minutes and 12 seconds! steve: i was wondering that some sort of record? gecko: that's a good question. e 5 milet's have a look.ds! curtis: mmmm, not quite. someone's got you beat by 8 seconds. cko: still, i mean, at's... that's qui steve: well, what if i told you i only used one hand? anncr: geico. 15 nuco save yor insurance.

hello. this is "world one" live from london. >> here are our top stories this hour. >> the world is listening or waiting to listen to what syria's president will have to say one day after the cabinet resigned. but bashar al assad is scheduled

to address the nation today. we'll bring that to you live. sea water near the fukushima nuclear plant is highly contaminated. radioactivity iodine was measured at more than 3,000 times the normal level. the ceo of tepco which owns the damaged power plant apologized for the crisis. the u.s. president is not ruling out the option of arming rebel forces in libya, but barack obama says he hasn't made a firm decision on this just yet. his comments come as opposition forces face increasingly strong resistance from gadhafi loyalists. rebels have been forced to retreat from the oil town of bin jawad and now in ras lanuf. >> cricket pitting india and neighboring pakistan. it is a fever pitch across both

countries. many hope it will smooth over years of bitter relations politically between the two countries. the latest we have is india won the toss and they have chosen to bat first. the winners will pay sri lanka in the world cup final. back to syria and the speech we're suspecexpecting from pres ba share al assad. the speech keeps getting delayed and delayed. >> reporter: from the latest source, it will happen sometime this afternoon. i'm sorry we can't be more precise this is what we have. we were expecting it at 5:00 a.m. eastern, 11:00 a.m. local time. it has been delayed several times. we expect bashar al assad, in this address to the nation to promise to lift the emergency law in place since 1963, that the year of the baathist coup and his father taking place in

1970 and the man you see on the screen, in power the last 11 years. the big question is when he does make these promises of reform and does promise to lift the emergency law, a, what impact will it have on the ground? experts say not much and b, will it quiet demonstrations in okay cities such as darwa in the south and according to human rights groups, more than 60 people have been killed by the forces. and by making promises, the regime is somewhat worried it will lead to destabilization of the leadership at the very top of the baathist government in syria. >> hala, you're syrian. you've been there so many times. give people an idea what it's like to live under the emergency law in syria. >> well, it's, as it is in many

situations and many arab countries in the middle east and north africa, these emergency laws in place because the government says it is to ensure security for ordinary citizens, in fact, these emergency laws are often used to prevent people from assembling, prevent people from openly criticizing the government and also to arbitrarily detain people who are suspected, according to the security forces of crimes, human rights groups and many of their opposition members say were never committed. that these are spurious charges in fact used to silence political opponents. that's what the emergency law does politically. what it does socially, there's a climate of fear in many cases, where people feel they can't speak freely. people feel there is a network of corruption and cronyism that only helps certain people associated with the leadership and regime, with economic and political opportunity.

that's what emergency law does, not just in syria but another countries in the arab world and beyond. >> what do most syrians think of bashir al assad? >> that's an interesting question. there's a difference, i think, to be made between a certain level of hatred for the regime itself. there's real resentment over the last two generations now only a small number of people have profited economically and politically in syria. the difference to be made between the regime and this presidential couple. some people in syria will tell you that they don't necessarily dislike the person, they dislike the system and their regime. it's a nuance sort of approach to this story in syria that's a little bit different from other countries. bashar al assad is young relatively speaking, 45 years old, educated in the uk, was to become an on thap t-- eye doctol

his brother died and then his wife, the black or rouse wife, who dresses in a trendy way in designer clothing and you have a nuanswer approach to the regime where the presidential couple itself is not necessarily as disliked as the regime. >> cnn's hala gorani in atlanta. thanks. we'll keep checking back. >> he has talked a lot about reform and never followed through. still, this relatively young auto-crat is liked by mr. syrians, populated by an image of every day family man. will that be enough now. >> reporter: he was the second son, a man deep in the shadow of

his father. bashar al assad was never meant to rule. but his older brother's death in a 1994 car accident thrust him into history's crossroads. now, roles like this are defining his rule. bloodied bodies and violent protests fast becoming a daily event in southern syria. cnn authenticates this video and human rights groups says it shows syrian forces firing on their own people. state tv disputes this. they say force has worked in the past but not this time. >> the government is going to try to use the tactics it has used a very long time, which is to snuff out any protests. what we just heard, which is most important, is the wall of fear is coming down. >> reporter: syrians of suffered for decades. bashir al assad's father ruled

with an iron fist. he ruthlessly put down dissent, dissidents jailed and opposition crushed. they put the number of those killed into the tens of thousands. critics say his father's security machine still holds a grip on the country and even the president himself. speaking to cnn in 2005, bashar al assad rejected those 2 suggest he's not in control. >> at the same time, they say i'm a dictator. choose. you cannot be a dictator and not in control. >> reporter: he denies he's a dictator, seeing himself as a modern leader, trained as an ophthalmologist, married to a syrian woman, a young attractive couple. this was meant to be a new era of reform, transparency and democracy. >> there has been some change and reform but promises have not been delivered. human rights watch calls the 10

years of bashar al assad's rule the wasted decade, media controlled, internet monitored and censored and dissidents still fill up the prisons. >> reporter: now, the protests, activists in syria say the president cannot look away. >> he has to start listening. time to start listening and acting. he can't afford any more promises. >> reporter: how he responds will answer the question. is bashar al assad truly the son of the father? cnn. stain the story or the nuclear crisis in japan, the ceo of the crippled power plant has apologized for damaging and overheating nuclear reactors. he says staff are doing all they

can to stave off a meltdown in fukushima but it could be creating a new hazard. workers are scrambling to contain tons of radioactivity water contaminated when it was sprayed onto the nuclear fuel rods to cool them down. it's not certain there is a texas but new tests indicate iodine in the ocean is more than 3,000 times normal. meantime, the president, masataka shimizu was taken to the hospital for stress. it is far from easy. a normally joyful event now overshadowed by grief. >> reporter: in nearly every way, this appears to be your average grade schooling graduation, until you look closely at the children, all wearing donated clothes and you listen to what they say.

a song for their destroyed school. grieves loss of parents and grandparents and their towns lost when the tsunami wept through. this mother's daughter is among the graduates. but her husband. he's missing, she says. my daughter is graduating and i want him to be here. her grandfather died in the tsunami. his grandmother wept for what her husband would never see. he was looking forward to this, she says, as well as seeing his grandson grow up. despite their grief, these parents, standing in this unheated evacuation center, were determined to hold this graduation, because this is all the parents can give the students of this elementary school. first, the tsunami came through

and flooded through the school. then, a gas explosion sparked a fire that burned through the town and destroyed this building. through all that, the students at osuchi elementary all survived. in that way, these children have become a symbol of hope for this community. yoko lost her husband, house and everything she owns. you don't have children at the school but were so moved by what you saw today. why? >> translator: this is a small town. even if the children are not our own, we care for them as if their our own. everyone feels this is their own family graduating. >> reporter: through their own grief, the children make a public pledge. they will rebuild the school and their town. like all graduation, this one also signals a commencement, a beginning, the town of osachi starting its own recovery.

japan. catastrophes carry a heavy cost. a swiss insurer says 2010 saw a huge spike in the cost of damages from natural anhui man caused disasters. economic loss from disasters last year totaled $218 billion. that's more than three times greater than in 2009. $48 billion of the damage was insured. the largest loss came with the chile earthquake, $8 billion. bp gulf oil spill cost $1 billion. this year's total will almost certainly eclipse last year's spike already new zealand's damages estimated $6-12 billion and the japanese earthquake and tsunami could be a total more than $300 billion. you're watching "world one" live from london. cnn's 2010 in london, on a mission to end sexual slavery, fighting it one girl at a time.

what does it take to fly? it takes knowing we have our work cut out for us. but if you run before the wind you can't take off. you've got to turn into it. the thing you push against lifts you up. so, every challenge is a chance to show that even in this crazy world of no liquids and route cancellations someone still has the passenger's back. and along the way we'll prove we're not just building a bigger airline we're building a better one.

when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare.

and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now.

you're watching "world one." the last time many of us heard the word slavery may have been back in history class. >> unfortunately, the practice is far from a thing of the past and why cnn has launched the worldwide freedom project. >> there are an estimated 10,000 slaves in the world and more than 70% are female. >> thousands of nepalese women have managed to escape from a life of slavery thanks to cnn's hero of the year. >> she has rescued more than 12,000 victims from the

foundation she created in 1993. here's her story. >> this is a paper to cooperate on issue of trafficking. what is trafficking? when you're in danger. there is a map for us if they pick it up. they bring girls from the villages and from there, they're trafficked. the problem lies in the villages. all of us should go to the village. we plan our door-to-door campaigning. we went in a group to a village and it was exactly like election campaigning. door-to-door, handing pamphlets.

people came to hear and then you do not know who's in a mess? they may be a trafficker, mother, father of the girl, the girl may be there. we give the information about trafficking. this is how the community can be aware of the issues of trafficking, because when we first came, they didn't want to come out. as we started doing everything, now, they are asking for pamphlets, brochures and we are giving them. they didn't want it. but now since we have told them about trafficking, they have done it. now, even if a small child is found on the street, they bring it to us, no matter what it is, abandoned child. if it is a small boy or girl, thrown on the street, thrown in the garbage, they bring it to us. they're sexually exploited, like

rapes or survivors. traffic survivors, brought to us. this is not only one where we have to do lots of work but we have to do this kind of awareness often so girls working there get more aware of it. you see, if one person is educated in a day, means it's a huge success because one person gets educated and knows about trafficking, she will spread it to all the people. when i see this, i feel that this is very, very important, because we are trying to save lives here. so if this message, if they really take it and really understand, they will be aware of it, so that tomorrow they will not be trafficked.

>> h human trafficking is not something we think about everyday but five things you need to know. find out on cnn.com/freedom. his wedding may be just around the corner, you know which wedding i'm talking about, right, "the wedding," the one on april the 29th. that's not stopping prince harry from his polar adventure. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

welcome back. you're watching "world one," live from london. coming up at 6:00 a.m. in new york, noon in berlin and 8:00 p.m. in tokyo. our top stories right now. in syria, we're suspecting the president bashar al assad to

speak. his address has been delayed. his cabinet quit tuesday amid a wave of unrest. he may be announcing he will lift civil restrictions and dreaded and hated emergency law that's been there since 1963. we will bring you his speech live as soon as it starts. japan's nuclear crisis intensifies. tests show sea water near the nuclear plants highly contaminated. radioactivity iodine was measured at more than 3,000 times the normal level. the ceo of tepco which owns the damaged power plant apologized to the nation for the crisis. the u.s. president is not ruling out the option of arming rebel forces in libya but barack obama said he hasn't made a firm decision on this just yet. it comes as opposition forces face increasingly strong resistance to gadhafi loilists. rebels have been forced to retreat from the key down of bin jawad and now regrouping. the semifinal of the world

cricket cup is under way facing their rivals and neighbors pakistan, the mother of all matches. this is super bowl on steroids, if you think of it like that. excitement is at a fever pitch as cricketers around the world watching this. many have just skipped work, they're not showing up. many hope that the game will help smooth over relations that have been bitter between the two countries. the latest is india won the toss and chosen to bat first. the winners of this match will play sri lanka in saturday's world final. >> zain will be watching when we get off the set. >> i'm not a big cricket fan. >> i'm not either. i don't get it. it's national sports and national interests and geopolitically as well. let's talk about the weather, brewing down under. >> pouring over our weather maps at the international weather

center, jen, what are you able to spot? >> hi, zain. i have to tell you, not much of a cricket fan myself but everybody is excited for the big match and everybody is looking forward to that. let's talk about the weather a bit more. we have a tropical system, a tropical low we're tracking. this is going to be bringing heavy rainfall to the northern territory of australia as well as the western territory. over the last several months we talked about heavy rainfall has been falling across portions of darwin. we don't need any more rain. look how orange this is. a tremendous amount of rainfall offshore and the system is moving down south bringing heavy rainfall with it along with areas of darwin and looks by friday, could be a tropical cyclone and in the atlantic, a weak tropical storm. winds will be the problem, heavy rainfall. as we go through the next 48 hours, the track of that storm

system will take it to the west of darwin. we will be looking at flooding problems. we can see anywhere from 25 to 50 centimeters of rainfall works out anywhere from 10 to 25 to 30 inches of rainfall. across parts of the u.s., we're dealing with severe weather to the south. we're looking at storms producing hail and strong winds and isolated tornadoes even at this hour. as i show you on the radar, we do have a tornado watch box in place for areas like louisiana spreading towards florida. this is where we see the problem flying out of new orleans or parts of florida, expect delays this morning, more rains to the north and the line towards atlanta and snow and parts of the midwest. now, happy to report, no delays. that's the weather. i want to leave you with something a little positive out of space. hey, zain, you will like this, the first ever shot sent back,

of the planet mercury. the messenger, spacecraft is in orbit right now and sent this photo, the first of many to come, expecting 70, 75,000. if you want to track it, logon to nasa or follow on twitter. >> great pictures. >> wow. >> you made my day. >> i know i did. just for you. >> we will show you home video shot in st. petersburg, florida, on sunday. the aircraft crashed into the water just shy of the runway, attempting to land reporting mechanical problems. a rescue team pulled the pilot and one passenger to safety. they suffered minor injuries and will be fine. the faa will investigate what went wrong. talk about missing their mark. >> i'm zane vergee. >> thank you for joining us on

cnn. ahead on "american morning," a disturbing story, nine people dead and 10 more very sick. all had one thing in common. they were patients in alabama hospitals, six of them. now, investigators say it appears there was something inside those hospitals that killed them. in japan, radiation levels in the sea water spiking to their highest levels yet, in japan's nuclear power station, they are 3,000 times higher than normal. if you ever wondered what hell is like, wait until you hear an e-mail written by one of the workers inside that plant. a brutal offensive by moammar gadhafi's troops delivers a big setback to rebels in libya. president obama says he won't rule out arming the opposition.

a hole was found in the fuselage of a jet and now officials say it was a bullet. how did that happen? details on this report. expedia. aren't getting enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. should i bundle all my policies with nationwide insurance ? watch this. on one hand, you have your home insurance with one company. and on another hand, you have your auto with another. and on another hand, you have your life with another. huh... but when you bundle them all together with nationwide insurance... ... they all work together perfectly-- and you could save 25%. wow... it's all in the wrists.

♪ nationwide is on your side